28 BUILDINGS 03.16
a growing number of companies that offer analytics as part of
their package.

When discussing audio’s value proposition with your leadership, frame it as avoided costs, recommends Brent. What’s
it worth to your organization to prevent one altercation from
going further than it should? The financial repercussions of
compromised security can range from property destruction and
theft to more serious instances of legal liability if people are
injured. The combination of video and audio puts additional
data into the hands of your security team so they can assess and
respond with speed.

Aside from sensitive areas where the expectation of privacy is
a given, such as restrooms and locker rooms, audio has no physical limitations in your building. You can use electronic ears in a
host of external applications, from entrances and loading areas
to parking lots and perimeter zones. Camera mics are equally as
useful inside your facility, including lobbies, work areas, classrooms, corridors, stairwells, cafeterias and gyms. Anywhere you
have a security camera can be optimized with sound as well.

One caveat is how much background noise is present. For
example, traffic noise may interfere with audio quality if your
property is near a busy road. An open work area with echoes or
a factory with loud equipment could impede sound recognition
in a similar manner. An apt example where audio‘s effectiveness
is rendered mute – a sports venue. A place where people normally cheer, scream and yell will make it hard to detect legitimate aggression from enthusiastic fan behavior, says Brent.

No matter where you want to place audio, first determine whatyou want to hear (see sidebar below). Is it a matter of listening inreal time when warranted or let-ting software determine when anunusual sound has occurred? Thisseems like a simple question, butthe answer will dictate what typeof listening technology you need.

The Right Equipment

While sourcing audio equip-ment is relatively straightforward,

pay close attention to its installa-tion. Microphone placement is dif-ferent than field of view. The bestplace for a camera is usually in thecorner of a room and high out ofreach, but sound isn’t contained atthe edges of a space, Brent notes.Unless you have a sophisticatedaudio capture device that can pickup sounds from the middle of theroom, the audio could be garbled,distorted or out of sync with thevideo. In these cases, you can runthe cabling for a plug-in micro-phone behind the walls or ceiling so you can place the mic in aneffective location separate from the camera.Also consider that all microphones are not created equal. Forexample, a mic used by a singer is designed to capture a differ-ent set of audio frequencies than the sounds needed beyond thecontinued

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HEAR?

Did you know audio analytics are intelligent enough to detect a wide range of noises? You can
configure your software to recognize these predefined
sounds and send an alert when one is detected.

✓ Verbal aggression

✓ Weapon discharge (gunshots, explosives)

✓ Breaking glass

✓ Distress

✓ Key words (help, kill, gun)

✓ Car accidents

✓ Impact blows

✓ Phrases or terms in multiple languages

✓ Life safety alarms (smoke and fire)

✓ Malfunctioning machine equipment

✓ Car alarms

✓ Graffiti spray cans

✓ Squealing tires

WHILE SOURCING
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
IS RELATIVELY
STRAIGHTFORWARD,
PAY ATTENTION TO
ITS INSTALLATION.
MICROPHONE PLACEMENT IS DIFFERENT
THAN FIELD OF VIEW.
THE BEST PLACE FOR
A CAMERA IS
USUALLY IN THE
CORNER OF A ROOM
AND HIGH OUT OF
REACH, BUT SOUND
ISN’T CONTAINED AT
THE EDGES OF
A SPACE.